Video delivery services may have stream limits for users. A stream may use an open connection that a client device has with either a content delivery network (CDN) or a server associated with the video delivery service. The video delivery service may track the number of streams that a user has concurrently open and then may enforce stream limits. Using stream limits may ensure that users cannot overuse the video delivery service or they may avoid a user sharing the user's account information with other users. Overusing the service may result in delivery bottlenecks or added costs to deliver the videos. Also, sharing the account with other users may attempt to avoid potential new users paying subscription fees to the video delivery service.
When a video delivery service offers a live viewing option in which users can view live media programs on a set linear schedule, enforcing the stream limits may cause problems with a user's experience. In the linear schedule, users can only watch the media programs when they are offered and available in the schedule. At certain times, such as on the half-hour, or hourly, the live schedule may switch from playing a first media program to playing a second media program. For example, on the half hour or hour, multiple media programs may end and new media programs may start. To make the switchover smooth, the video delivery service may allow client devices to preload a new manifest for the second live media program before the first media program ends. That is, before the switchover occurs, a client device may preload a manifest that identifies a number of segments for the second media program. This preloading causes the client device to open a new stream to perform the preloading. However, the opening of the new stream may cause the user to go over the user's stream limit. Accordingly, the video delivery service may block the opening of the stream for preloading. In these cases, the user experience may degrade as the preloading may not happen and when the switchover occurs from the first media program to the second media program, the client device has not opened a stream and preloaded the manifest. The client device may experience some buffering or jitter when the first media program ends while the client device opens a new stream and downloads the manifest files.